


A Touch, A Dance

by 4everTimeless



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 17:16:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14549508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4everTimeless/pseuds/4everTimeless
Summary: ...this was a slow waltz, a sway really, that lingered and swelled with the music. Lucy was content to stay like this for as long as possible, maybe even until the years passed and it was once again the future...(Or the one where Flynn teaches Lucy how to dance)





	A Touch, A Dance

**Author's Note:**

> This one shot is as close as I'm probably ever going to get to writing fluff. I'm hope you all enjoy and please leave comments and let me know what you think.

Flynn leaned against the door frame, exasperated from the fight he had just been in, as he dug through his pockets to find the key. His breathing was still heavy and it didn’t help that he had to rush, not wanting anyone to pass him in the hallway looking the way he did. His suit was torn, there was a bloodstain on his shirt and he was still sticky with sweat. When he finally found the key he was quick to open the door and then lock it again from the inside.

 

He could hear the tv in the bedroom, Lucy was probably asleep by then, which would be good for her, she was in desperate need of rest. With a few long strides Flynn was by the couch, shedding his torn jacket and stained dress shirt, wiping his forehead with it before tossing it aside. He had lost his tie during the fight, one of his favorites too, but he’d be able to replace it one they got back to the present. As soon as Rufus got back they could leave, but there was no telling how long the scientist would take.

 

As he began to kick off his shoes Flynn noticed the chair in the hotel room had moved slightly from when he was last there. His eyes slowly drifted from this to the bedroom door which he know could tell was cracked open, the blueish light of the tv streaming in onto the floor. There was a breeze too, he realized, a cold wind that sent a shiver down his spine.

 

Silently he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his gun, walking slowly towards the bedroom, cursing under his breath for not taking Lucy with him earlier. She had wanted to come but he thought she’d be safer here, now he wished he had listened to her. He threw the bedroom door open and pointed his gun out, ready to shoot at any attacker that may have snuck in. But instead of finding some Rittenhouse agent as he expected, he found a very frightened Lucy. She screamed and rolled off the bed in a flash, keeping herself low to the ground as she shouted at him to put the gun away.

 

“What’s wrong with you!?!?!” She yelled, peeking up like a meerkat to see if the gun was gone. A wave of relief washed over her face to find that he had lowered the weapon and was now just looking around the room.

 

“What’s wrong with me?” He repeated sarcastically, “the bedroom door was open! I thought something had happened to you!”  Flynn’s eyes scanned the room carefully, landing first on the window which was half open, then on a glass of wine and a half empty bottle on the bedside table.

 

“I can’t leave the door open now?” Lucy asked, somewhat amused as she crawled back up on the bed. Flynn kept his eyes fixed on the drink for a while before he went back to staring at her, caught somewhere between angry and concerned.

 

“Are you drunk?” He finally asked, walking over to the side table and closing the window before picking up the bottle of red wine.

 

Lucy shrugged and grabbed her glass then went back to watching whatever black and white movie was playing. She apparently was over all the excitement but Flynn wasn’t so quick to drop the conversation. He knew Lucy had been off lately, everyone knew that. She was going through so much and so he couldn’t really blame her but still, this… It was reckless, she shouldn’t be drinking on the job when they knew Rittenhouse was after her, especially not when she was completely alone.

 

“I think you’ve had enough,” Flynn said with a sigh, reaching for the glass in her hand but she quickly pulled back.

 

“I’m a big girl, Flynn, I think I can handle myself.” She argued, finishing the glass then handing it over to him, apparently not up for an actual argument.

 

His jaw clenched as he took it and the bottle, placing them carefully on top of the large armoire in the corner, which she hopefully couldn’t reach. He opened one of the black drawers and picked out his plain t shirt and sweatpants that he had worn there then made his way behind the dressing screen.

 

As he changed the tv filled the silence. “ _Yes?”_ The unmistakable voice of Audrey Hepburn asked whatever man she was speaking to. “ _Do you mind if we turn this off?”_ The man on the screen asked, sounding just as grumpy and tired as Flynn felt.

 

_“Why?”_

_“Because.”_

_“Don't you like it?”_

_“I used to like it.”_ The music that was playing in the movie stopped.

_“Certain songs bring back certain memories to me, too. Did you love her?”_

_“I'd rather not talk about it.”_

 

Flynn walked out, and seated himself on the other side of the king sized bed, allowing for a large distance between himself and Lucy. There was no doubt two of them had become friends over the past few weeks but there was still an uncomfortable air that neither of them could deny. Lucy didn’t seem to mind sharing her space with him though, looking rather comfortable lying there in her slip and bathrobe, but the alcohol could have contributed to that.

 

He tried not to stare at her, focusing instead on the film which he had vague memories of seeing before in some other lifetime. He couldn’t quite place it, who had seen it with or where he was, but he knew it was a good memory. Probably some early date with Lorena, or maybe his mother had watched it once when he was younger. Flynn imagined Lucy had a similar story, the amount of times he had read her journal and found that they had little things like that in common was innumerable.

 

Lucy didn’t seem to be enjoying it too much though. She sort of glared at the tv, watching Audrey Hepburn move across the screen with a dissatisfied look on her face. Maybe she was just tired, or perhaps she was just still in her funk, letting her mind wander under the guise of watching a movie. Whatever it was Flynn determined it’d be best to not question her about it, she got enough of that in the present from her team. The least he could do was sit there and watch the movie with her as he had done so many times before.

 

“Have you ever seen this?” Lucy eventually asked, turning her head to look at him. Flynn leaned back against the mountain of pillows.

 

“Probably... a long time ago…” He replied, opening the drawer in the bedside table and hiding his gun behind the bible. His hand brushed over the leather cover before he shut the drawer and looked back at Lucy. He couldn’t help the hopeful look in his eyes about the prospect of her opening up to him, but it faded when she began to speak again.

 

“It’s good,” she said quietly, her voice was distant and uninterested.

 

For a moment it seemed that she would go on but instead she just went back to watching. Went back into her own little world which Flynn could now see was somewhat detached from all of the troubles she was facing. She wasn’t really glaring at the movie as it had first seemed, she just wasn’t enjoying it like she probably would have if there wasn’t a multitude of problems weighing on her shoulders. But at least for the time being she could sit there and be a little tipsy and watch someone else have problems of their own.

 

Flynn tried in vain to catch up with the plot of the film. It was a romance, which was not at all surprising to him, and Audrey Hepburn's character was in love with a man who apparently was only pretending to love her. Flynn had a feeling he knew how it would end but he kept watching anyway, hoping that it would help pass the time until Rufus came back.

 

“I wish I could dance,” Lucy mused in a half whisper to herself after a long bout of silence. Flynn turned to her, his brows quirking up in amusement. She probably wouldn’t have said it if she wasn’t a little drunk, in fact she didn’t seem totally aware that she had said anything at all.

 

“What?” He asked, a small smirk growing on his face as he moved onto his side to look at her.

 

“Sabrina and Linus were dancing earlier… a waltz, I think,” Lucy explained in a sigh, still looking at the television, “I just wish I could dance.”

 

“Can’t you?”

 

“No, I never took dance classes as a kid, my mom was more about academics. And high school wasn’t my shining moment, I never even went prom…” She didn’t sound remorseful about it, just stating the facts. But there was some wishful, dreamlike look in her eyes as she glanced at him lazily.

 

“Well, I’m sure you wouldn’t have been waltzing at prom,” Flynn reassured her, repositioning himself once again to watch the film, “Besides it’s not so hard to waltz, not for the woman anyhow.”

 

“You know how to waltz?” Her voice was laced with disbelief and amusement and Flynn couldn’t help but smile.

 

“I do.” Out of the corner of his eye he could see her move slightly, propping herself up on her elbow to watch study him. Flynn kept his eyes glued to the screen though, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of knowing that her staring made him uncomfortable. Some music started playing in the movie again and Flynn watched Audrey and her love interest sit down at a table together.

 

“Teach me,” Lucy finally blurted, getting out of the bed and turning off the television. She walked over to the radio and began to turn the dials, searching the waves for some sort of music.

 

“Now?” Flynn sat up as he posed the question, he was really in no mood to dance, let alone teach but Lucy didn’t seem in the mood to let this go.

 

“Yes.” She insisted, finding a song that seemed to satisfy her then wandering over to his side of the bed. She stood a few feet in front of him with her hands on her hips, waiting for him to stand up.

 

“Lucy, it’s late and you’re drunk.”

 

“So what?” Lucy asked, she really wasn’t about to take no for an answer as she held out her hand impatiently.

 

“So you’ll step on my feet.” Flynn sighed, taking her hand and standing up in defeat. He loomed over her but didn’t feel quite so powerful as he normally did. With a slightly frustrated frown he walked with her, hand in hand, to a clear spot on the floor then stopped. “Two songs and then I’m going to sleep.”

 

“Deal.” Lucy looked very proud of herself, her chin jutting up to get a good view of his face. His jaw was locked tight but she could see the beginnings of a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. His eyes didn’t meet hers though, instead he glanced over her lazily as he untangled their hands.

 

“Alright, right hand in my left,” he instructed, taking her other hand and holding their arms out, “and left hand on my shoulder… or close to it.”

 

“Maybe I should get my heels,” Lucy mumbled, realizing that the height difference might make the lesson a bit difficult. She pulled back a bit but Flynn kept his hand steady on her back.

 

“Don’t bother.” Without a word he moved her hand so that it rested on his upper arm. There eyes connected for a moment then he was back to looking down at their feet and Lucy followed suit. “Now, all you have to do is follow my lead. When I step towards you, you step back, when I step to the side-”

 

“I step to the side.” Lucy finished with a nod.

 

They stood in their silence for a moment as Flynn got a feel for the music, then without much warning he began to move. It was slow and clumsy at first, Lucy felt like she was playing catch up as he moved them around muttering repeated “one, two, three”’s. There were times when the alcohol mixed her up and she moved left instead of right. But after a good minute or two of awkward side steps, staring at their feet, trying not to step on Flynn, Lucy start to get a feel for it.

 

Flynn was a surprisingly good and patient teacher but more surprisingly his large body moved gracefully as they danced. Lucy couldn’t help but notice the irony in the fact that she was much lighter than him and yet she was the clumsy one and he seemed light as a feather. But he complimented her everytime she did something right and helped her when she messed up. After awhile she didn’t even really care, sh was having fun and it seemed like he was too.

 

Somewhere around the third or fourth song the dance morphed into a less formal waltz until they were finally just swaying together. Lucy’s hands now rested lazily on Flynn’s chest and his held her waist comfortably. And she didn’t feel awkward or imposing when she rested her head on his shoulder, her cheek brushing against the soft fabric of his t-shirt, her eyes fluttering closed for a minute.

 

With her eyes closed she could focus more on the sound of the music, the violins rising and falling, the repetitive melody of the piano. All the while Flynn was humming softly, his low voice harmonizing with the higher tune of the song. Lucy felt suddenly serene and safe, and she wasn’t thinking about all the things that were wrong in her life. She was just there, with him and it felt good.

 

When she opened her eyes Flynn was looking down at her with a smile that still felt somewhat unfamiliar, though it was becoming more common recently. It was a gentle smile that, created two little dimples on his cheeks, a smile that was more genuine and meaningful than his mischievous grins. It was a smile that he seemed to reserve for her. After a moment her gaze drifted from his mouth back to his eyes and she thought she had seen something in them.

 

Perhaps it was the alcohol, or the music, or the movie that had just been playing, or maybe it was some combination of the three. Something about the lighting, the way their dark eyes sparkled slightly orange with the warm glow from the lamps, and the cozy atmosphere of the hotel room. Whatever it was Lucy felt moved by it and she lifted herself up to her toes and leaned forward.

 

It wasn’t the kiss that Lucy was expecting, not that she had really been expecting it at all. But in the back of her mind Lucy had always imagined that a kiss with Flynn would be fast paced and passionate and more of a tango than a waltz. But this was a slow waltz, a sway really, that lingered and swelled with the music. Lucy was content to stay like this for as long as possible, maybe even until the years passed and it was once again the future. But it ended unexpectedly.

 

Flynn had taken a slight step back, a step that didn’t fit with the dance and the timing of the music, and turned his head so that he was looking away from her. And Lucy stumbled, dizzy from the alcohol and the kiss that had only lasted a few seconds. When she looked at him now she felt as if the world had slowed down as she stood there like a statue, her mouth not quite gaping open, her hands still gently resting on him, but now solely for balance. Her face began to flush a bit and she could feel her heart beating through her ears. She wanted to run away, maybe if she were going just off of instinct she would have run away but she couldn’t. She just looked at him, desperately trying to understand what had happened. Where had she gone wrong? What signals did she misread?

 

“I- I’m sorry…” Lucy finally mumbled, stepping out of his reach and turning so that she could barely see him.

 

“Lucy,” it hurt to hear him say her name like that, apologetically, like he pitied her, “don’t be sorry... I just- We can’t... Not now.”

 

‘Not now’... She didn’t know what he meant by that, what he could possibly mean by those two words. And naturally she was tempted to ask but Lucy was far too embarrassed at the moment to really care. She certainly wouldn’t have been able to understand his explanation anyhow, she’d be too caught up in the horrible thoughts that were circling her mind now.

 

“I’m um… I’m tired.” Lucy said, speaking louder this time, just to be sure he heard her.

 

She prayed that he would be able to take the hint and she wouldn’t have to spell it out for him. Luckily Flynn was always so good at reading her and he wasted little time leaving the room. He grabbed his gun from the drawer before he did and left the door open just a crack. With a sigh he sat down on the couch in the little living area, looking at the small crack in the door, watching the light go out in the room. He could hear Lucy shuffle across the floor quietly and then she turned up the radio so that the music almost drowned out the sound of his own breathing.

 

He wanted to go back in there and be with her. He wanted to explain himself, let her know what he had meant and what he was feeling. But most of all he didn’t want her to be alone in there, hurting as she had been for so long. But Flynn knew that right now Lucy didn’t want him to talk to her, she didn’t even want him to be around her. As he was lost in his thoughts, his thumb brushing lightly across his bottom lip, the song changed;

 

_I hear the breezes playing in the trees above_

_While all the world is saying you were meant for love._

 

Flynn hardly noticed until the chorus began anew and then he was reminded of a passage in Lucy’s journal: _“I used to cry everytime that song played.”_ When he first read it Flynn couldn’t have cared less, it had nothing to do with Rittenhouse and so it was irrelevant. But the more he read the journal the more this part stood out to him, it had been so seemingly random. He had always assumed it had something to do with Wyatt, or some other past romance.

 

But now Flynn knew and he wished he didn’t. He never wanted to hurt her and it seemed that he kept doing just that.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for the fact that I literally can't write a simple happy ending. Apparently angst is my middle name.


End file.
